The present invention relates to disposable absorbent articles which are adapted to contain body exudates. More particularly, the present invention relates to pant-like disposable absorbent articles having releasable seams and a folded fastening feature.
It is desired that absorbent articles such as diapers, training pants or incontinence garments provide a close, comfortable fit about the wearer and contain body exudates. Moreover, it is desirable that such absorbent articles, after being soiled, can be removed from the wearer in a convenient and clean manner without undesirably soiling the caregiver or surrounding area such as the clothes of the wearer. In certain circumstances, it is also desirable that such absorbent articles are capable of being pulled up or down over the hips of the wearer to allow the wearer or caregiver to easily pull the article on and easily remove the article if it has not been soiled. In such circumstances it is further desirable that the caregiver or the wearer may be able to apply the absorbent article to a wearer in a prone position similar to a conventional diaper. Such absorbent articles can assist in the toilet training of children.
Conventional diapers are not provided in a prefastened condition and have typically included a front waist portion and a back waist portion which are releasably connected about the hips of the wearer during use by conventional fasteners such as adhesive tape fasteners or hook and loop type fasteners. For example, the conventional fasteners have typically included a pair of fasteners, such as adhesive tape tabs, located on the outermost corners of the diaper in the back waist region of the diaper and a complimentary fastener, such as a taping panel, located on the exterior surface of the outer cover of the diaper in the front waist portion of the diaper. In such a configuration, the diaper has been positioned between the legs of the wearer while the wearer is lying down and the adhesive tape tabs have been releasably attached to the taping panel to secure the back waist portion to the front waist portion of the diaper to secure the diaper about the waist of the wearer. Such conventional diapers are easy to fasten about and remove from the wearer after use without undesirably soiling the caregiver. However, such conventional diapers are not provided in a pant-like, prefastened configuration and, thus, are not configured to be pulled up or down over the hips of the wearer when the fasteners are attached. Moreover, the fasteners on such conventional diapers are typically exposed to the wearer and the surroundings during the diapering process. This may result in the inadvertent attachment of the fasteners with the diaper or with the wearer""s clothing, further complicating the diapering process. In addition, the exposed fasteners may have the potential to irritate the wearer""s skin.
Several attempts have been made to provide absorbent articles which effectively contain body exudates and are capable of being pulled up or down over the hips of the wearer. For example, some conventional absorbent articles, such as conventional training pants, have included integral side panels which connect the front waist portion to the back waist portion of the absorbent article. The side panels have been made stretchable such that the waist opening of the absorbent article can expand to allow the absorbent article to-be pulled up or down over the hips of the wearer if desired. Such side panels have also been designed such that they may be torn to remove the training pant from the wearer after it has been soiled.
However, many of such attempts have not been completely satisfactory. For example, absorbent articles such as training pants have not always been able to achieve a close conforming fit to the wearer while still being able to expand enough to be pulled up and down over the hips of the wearer. Often such training pants fit the waist of the wearer loosely which can undesirably result in leaks. As a result, many of such articles have not contained bodily exudates as effectively as conventional diaper-type articles which can be adjusted to achieve a more conforming fit to the wearer. Moreover, the inspection and removal of soiled absorbent articles which have integral side panels, such as conventional training pants, have not always been completely satisfactory. For example, the side panels have been difficult to tear when attempting to remove the article from the waist of the wearer instead of pulling the article down over the hips of the wearer. Finally, some of these conventional training pants do not provide the option of being applied as a conventional diaper.
Accordingly, despite the attempts to develop improved absorbent articles, there remains a need for absorbent articles which can effectively provide the benefits of both conventional training pants and conventional diapers. That is, there remains a need for absorbent articles which conform to the wearer to effectively contain bodily exudates, which are capable of being pulled up and down over the hips and buttocks of the wearer without opening, which are readily secured about and removed from the wearer in a convenient and clean manner and which allow easy inspection by the care giver to assist in determining whether the article is soiled. Moreover, there is a need that such pant-like disposable absorbent articles are also capable of being applied in the manner of a conventional diaper, to a wearer lying in a prone position.
In response to the difficulties and problems discussed above, new pant-like disposable absorbent articles which have at least one releasable joint and at least one folded fastener have been discovered. In one aspect, the present invention concerns a pant-like, disposable absorbent article which defines a front waist region, a back waist region, a crotch region which extends between and connects the waist regions, a longitudinal direction and a lateral direction. The absorbent article includes an absorbent chassis which defines an absorbent core, an exterior surface, an interior surface opposite the exterior surface, a pair of laterally opposed side edges and a pair of longitudinally opposed waist edges. The absorbent article also includes a pair of opposed side panels which extend outward from and between the side edges of the absorbent chassis in the front waist region and back waist region of the absorbent article to define a waist opening and a pair of leg openings in the pant-like disposable absorbent article. At least one of the opposed side panels defines a first side margin which is permanently attached to the side edge of the absorbent chassis in one of the waist regions of the absorbent article to provide a permanent joint and a second side margin which is releasably attached to the side edge of the absorbent chassis in the opposite waist region of the absorbent article to provide a releasable joint. The absorbent article also includes a first folded fastener located adjacent the at least one releasable joint. The folded fastener is configured to be unfolded and used to refastenably engage the second side margin of the at least one side panel to the opposite waist region of the absorbent article after the releasable joint is released.
In another aspect, the present invention concerns a pant-like, disposable absorbent article which defines a front waist region, a back waist region, a crotch region which extends between and connects the waist regions, a longitudinal direction and a lateral direction. The absorbent article includes an absorbent chassis which defines an absorbent core, an exterior surface, an interior surface opposite the exterior surface, a pair of laterally opposed side edges and a pair of longitudinally opposed waist edges. The absorbent article also includes a pair of laterally opposed, extensible back panels which are permanently attached to the side edges of the absorbent chassis in the back waist region of the absorbent article, and a pair of laterally opposed, extensible front panels which are releasably attached to the side edges of the absorbent chassis in the front waist region of the absorbent article to provide a pair of releasable joints. The front and back panels on each side edge of the absorbent chassis are permanently connected together along a side seam to define a waist opening and a pair of leg openings. The absorbent article also includes a pair of folded fasteners located adjacent the releasable joints. The folded fasteners are held in a folded arrangement and are configured to be unfolded and used to refastenably attach the front panels to the front waist region of the absorbent article after the releasable joints are released.
In yet another aspect, the present invention concerns a pant-like, disposable absorbent article which defines a front waist region, a back waist region, a crotch region which extends between and connects the waist regions, a longitudinal direction and a lateral direction. The absorbent article includes an absorbent chassis which defines an absorbent core, an exterior surface, an interior surface opposite the exterior surface, a pair of laterally opposed side edges and a pair of longitudinally opposed waist edges.
The absorbent article further includes a pair of laterally opposed, extensible back panels which are permanently attached to the side edges of the absorbent chassis in the back waist region of the absorbent chassis. Still further, the absorbent article includes a pair of laterally opposed, extensible front panels which are permanently attached to the side edges of the absorbent chassis in the front waist region of the absorbent article. The front panel and the back panel on each side edge of the absorbent chassis are refastenably connected together along a side seam to provide a pair of releasable joints and to define a waist opening and a pair of leg openings. The absorbent article also includes a pair of folded fasteners located adjacent the releasable joints. The folded fasteners are held in a folded arrangement and are configured to be unfolded and used to refastenably engage the back panels to the front waist region of the absorbent article after the releasable joints are released.
In still yet another aspect, the present invention concerns a pant-like, disposable absorbent article which defines a front waist region, a back waist region, a crotch region which extends between and connects the waist regions, a longitudinal direction and a lateral direction. The absorbent article includes an absorbent chassis which defines an absorbent core, an exterior surface, an interior surface opposite the exterior surface, a pair of laterally opposed side edges and a pair of longitudinally opposed waist edges. The absorbent article further includes a pair of laterally opposed, extensible back panels which are permanently attached to the side edges of the absorbent chassis in the back waist region of the absorbent chassis. Still further, the absorbent article includes a pair of laterally opposed, extensible front panels which are permanently attached to the side edges of the absorbent chassis in the front waist region of the absorbent article. The front panel and the back panel on each side edge of the absorbent chassis are refastenably connected together along a side seam to provide a pair of releasable joints and to define a waist opening and a pair of leg openings. The absorbent article also includes a pair of folded fasteners located adjacent the releasable joints. The folded fasteners define an inboard edge, and an outboard edge wherein the inboard edge defines a length in the longitudinal direction which is greater than a length of the outboard edge in the longitudinal direction. The folded fasteners are held in a folded arrangement and are configured to be unfolded and used to refastenably engage the back panels to the front waist region of the absorbent article after the releasable joints are released.
The present invention advantageously provides pant-like, disposable absorbent articles which include a releasable joint and a folded fastener. In particular, the present invention provides pant-like disposable absorbent articles which are capable of being reliably pulled up or down over the hips of the wearer to assist in the toilet training of the wearer similar to conventional training pants. Moreover, similar to conventional diapers, the pant-like disposable absorbent articles of the present invention can be advantageously applied to and removed from the wearer similar to conventional diapers. Further, the pant-like disposable absorbent articles of the present invention allow easy inspection by the caregiver to assist in determining whether the article is soiled similar to conventional diapers. As such, the present invention provides a dual use absorbent article which can function as both a pant-like absorbent article and as a conventional diaper. This dual use capability may be particularly desirable for use with active wearers. Still further, the pant-like disposable absorbent articles of the present invention provide a folded fastener which reduces exposure of the active fastening area of the fastener to the wearer and their clothing. Therefore, the opportunity for irritation of the wearer""s skin is lowered, and the application of the article is eased as the opportunity for inadvertent snagging is diminished. Finally, the folded fastener may be configured to better conform to the area between the leg and torso of the wearer than the full-length seams provided by the article when it is in the pant-like configuration. Therefore, the use of the folded fastener of the present invention, upon disengagement of the releasable joint, can provide a closer, more conforming fit to the wearer, reduce the opportunity for leaks, and provide the wearer with greater flexibility and range of motion.